1879 SHARK SCARE AT REHOBOTH

A 1879 SHARK SCARE AT REHOBOTH BEACH

BREAKWATER LIGHT NEWSPAPER

Rehoboth Beach,, Monday, August, 18, 1879 Wilmington News Journal

The Breakwater Light tells A story about a shark scare at Rehoboth's beach last Tuesday. A

Wilmington lady rushed in breathlessly at the Surf House Hotel and exclaimed that she had

just been nearly eaten alive by a shark.

In 15 minutes afterward it was heard in every hotel and hamlet near Rehoboth that a lady

had “been chewed up and swallowed alive by a shark”. Nobody wanted to go bathing that

day, some said it was too cool, another old fellow said he was taking medicine for 'skeeter

bites', and the doctor told him not to go in salt water, others said they felt clean enough.

A group was formed to find the lady who told the tail and she was found in her hotel room

pealing a 10 cent basket of peaches. Surprised to hear the story she said “ I s'pect it did come

from me” and told it was but a land shark. She had hired a hackman to take her and her

friend riding and we bargained for 50 cents but when we got back he charged $2 and she had

to pay $1 to get rid of him. “It was a land shark that I was talking about and there are plenty

of them here and they are as dangerous as those that swim the sea.”